The 6-foot-3 combo guard began his college career at Michigan, where he logged limited minutes in 28 appearances as a freshman in the first year of the Dusty May era. He is the latest player to experience both sides of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. Most notably, Roddy Gayle Jr., a spark plug off the bench for the Wolverines’ 2025-26 national title team, spent his first two seasons with the Buckeyes before heading north to finish his college career with May.
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Becoming honorable mention All-ACC for a 22-win Cal team that reached the NIT, Pippen averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. He shot just 37% from the field, but posted 32.7% from beyond the arc, while averaging 1.7 long-range takeaways.
Pippen was tied for second on the team in scoring average and led the group in assists and steals. In fact, his 1.9 steals per game were the third-most of any ACC player this season.Pippen, who played high school baseball at Los Angeles’ Sierra Canyon, recorded 19 or more points six times last season at Cal. He reached exactly that mark, while also dishing out five assists, during the Jan. 17 win over North Carolina. He scored a season-high 24 points in a Feb. 25 win against SMU.
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Jake Diebler and Ohio State will appreciate his two-way impact following the departure of forward Devin Royal, who was the third-leading scorer and leading rebounder on a Buckeyes team that returned the program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.